Imam and Chief Khateeb of Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, Sheikh Ali Al-Hudhaify, will deliver the Hajj sermon (Khutba) and lead prayers at Masjid Al-Namirah on the Day of Arafah, the 9th of Dhul-Hijjah. The announcement was made by Saudi authorities on Monday.

Besides delivering the Khutba, Sheikh Al-Hudhaify will also lead the combined Dhuhr and Asr prayers at Masjid Al-Namirah on the plains of Mount Arafat.

The Arafat sermon is an important Sunnah of Hajj that follows the example of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). It is delivered from the pulpit of Masjid Al-Namirah at Mount Arafat.

The sermon reminds pilgrims of the significance of the day, the importance of seeking forgiveness and the mercy associated with Arafah.

The Imam traditionally references the Farewell Sermon delivered by Prophet Muhammad on the same plains more than 1,400 years ago. After the Khutba, the Dhuhr and Asr prayers are combined and shortened, following which pilgrims disperse across the plains of Arafat to engage in supplication until sunset.

Beijing, May 19: Russian President Vladimir Putin is travelling to China to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping less than a week after US President Donald Trump wrapped up his own trip to Beijing.

Putin is scheduled to be in China on Tuesday and Wednesday in a visit likely to be closely watched as Beijing seeks to maintain stable relations with the United States while also preserving strong ties with Russia.

The Kremlin has said Putin and Xi plan to discuss economic cooperation between the two countries, but also “key international and regional issues”. The visit coincides with the 25th anniversary of the Sino-Russian Treaty of Friendship signed in 2001.

“The Trump visit was about stabilising the world’s most important bilateral relationship; the Putin visit is about reassuring a long-standing strategic partner,” said Wang Zichen, deputy secretary-general for the Beijing-based think tank Centre for China & Globalisation. “For China, these two tracks are not mutually exclusive.”

Putin last visited China in September 2025 to attend the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Tianjin, watch a military parade honouring the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and hold talks with Xi.

At the time, Xi called his counterpart an “old friend ” while Putin addressed Xi as “dear friend”.

In April, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Beijing and met Xi, who described the bilateral relationship as “precious” in the current international context. Xi said China and Russia needed to use a stronger strategic collaboration to defend their legitimate, shared interests and safeguard the unity of Global South countries.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said over the weekend that Putin’s trip also would allow Russia to receive direct updates and exchange views with China concerning its talks with the US.

During Trump’s visit, Xi described the bilateral relationship between the US and China as the world’s most important and said they should see each other as partners rather than rivals.

By the end of the two-day summit, the countries said they would work on a new framework to manage “a constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability”.

Wang of the centre for China & Globalisation observed, “Beijing wants stable relations with the West, continued strategic trust with Moscow, and enough diplomatic room to present itself as an unbiased major power capable of talking to all sides.”

For some, Putin’s visit is meant to reinforce the partnership between Russia and China that has strengthened in recent years, in particular after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

China has said it is neutral in the Ukraine conflict while maintaining Russian trade ties despite economic and financial sanctions by the US and Europe.

China has become Russia’s top trading partner. Beijing is now the top customer for Russian oil and gas supplies and Moscow expects the war in Iran to increase the demand. China also has ignored demands from the West to stop providing high-tech components for Russia’s weapons industries.

Putin noted earlier this month that Moscow and Beijing have reached “a very substantial step forward in our cooperation in the oil and gas sector”.

“Practically all the key issues have been agreed upon,” the Russian leader said. “If we succeed in finalising these details and bringing them to a conclusion during this visit, I will be extremely pleased.”

Putin also hailed their bilateral relationship as a crucial, balancing force in international relations.

“Interaction between such nations as China and Russia undoubtedly serves as a factor of deterrence and stability,” he said.

Moscow welcomes China’s dialogue with the US as another stabilising element for the global economy, Putin added.

“We stand only to benefit from this, from the stability and constructive engagement between the US and China,” he said.

San Diego(US), May 19: Two teenage shooters opened fire at a San Diego mosque on Monday and killed three men before killing themselves a few blocks away, police said.

The attack at the Islamic Centre of San Diego is being investigated as a hate crime, San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said at a news conference at a neighbourhood park across from the mosque.

He said the “circumstances that led up to this” would come out in the days ahead.

Wahl said later that officers had been talking to one of the teenagers’ mothers earlier in the day after she had contacted police around 9:40 am to say her son was missing along with multiple weapons and her vehicle.

“She was beginning to develop a bigger picture as to what she was dealing with and was conveying that to our folks, and we were trying to put that together and get out in front of this as quickly as we could,” Wahl said.

The mother also found a note, Wahl said. He did not disclose its contents but said of the case, “There was definitely hate rhetoric that was involved,” though there was no specific threat against the Islamic Center of San Diego, Wahl said.

Wahl said the teenager whose mom contacted police was a student at Madison High School, about a mile away from the Islamic Centre. Police have not released the names of the teenagers.

Among those killed was a mosque security guard, who police believe “played a pivotal role” in keeping the attack from being “much worse,” Wahl said.

Later he said authorities continued to review the security guard’s response, but “it’s fair to say his actions were heroic.”

“Undoubtedly he saved lives today,” Wahl said.

The center is the largest mosque in San Diego County and includes the Al Rashid School that offers courses in Arabic language, Islamic studies and the Quran for students ages 5 and up, according to its website.

“All of the kids are safe,” Wahl said, appearing emotional. “Our hearts go out to the families that are in this moment being notified of what has happened to their loved ones.”

Police responded within four minutes of being called, Wahl said. As they arrived, gunshots rang out a few blocks away where a landscaper was shot at but uninjured. The shooters were found dead in a vehicle stopped in the middle of a road nearby, he said.

Aerial TV footage showed more than a dozen children holding hands and being walked out of the parking lot of the center as it was surrounded by scores of police vehicles. The white mosque is in a neighbourhood of homes, apartments and strip malls with Middle Eastern restaurants and markets.

Parents were directed to a nearby area to retrieve their children.

The mosque’s director, Imam Taha Hassane called it “extremely outrageous to target a place of worship.”

“All the places of worship in our beautiful city should always be protected,” he said.

He added that the centre focused on interfaith relations and community building, and that a group of non-Muslims had been touring the mosque earlier Monday to learn about Islam.

The Islamic Center’s website says its mission is to not only serve the Muslim population but also “work with the larger community to serve the less fortunate, to educate, and to better our nation.” Five daily prayers are held there, and the mosque works with other organisations and people of all faiths on social causes.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, one of the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy groups in the U.S., condemned the shooting.

“No one should ever fear for their safety while attending prayers or studying at an elementary school,” said CAIR-San Diego Executive Director Tazheen Nizam in a statement. “We are working to learn more about this incident and we encourage everyone to keep this community in your prayers.”

Gov Gavin Newsom’s office said he was being briefed.

“We are grateful to the first responders on the scene working to protect the community and urge everyone to follow guidance from local authorities,” his office posted on the social platform X.